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“You thought that I’ve known her for a long time?”
“Yeah. I mean, you two seem close.”
“We are. But I’ve only known her for just over five years. She and the other people you met earlier rescued me from a really bad situation. Just like you, I wondered why they seemed to go out of their way to help me when they didn’t know anything about me. Do you want to know what I’ve learned?”
He seems to search my eyes before sitting on the bed beside me, just out of arm's reach, still not trusting me not to hurt him. I try my hardest not to let it bother me, but it still stings a little. I know it’s not truly me he’s afraid of.
“I’ve learned that the people who live on this island are different from the ones you and I are used to.”
“What do you mean?”
I look back into Amelia’s room, watching Loukas lying on the bed with his daughter, tenderly rubbing her back before I turn back to Zach.
“I believed, probably much like you do, that everyone wants something from you. Nobody does something for nothing. Every act of kindness comes with a price that you must pay later.”
“What doyouknow about everything costing something?” he asks, accusation clear in his tone.
“A lot more than you think. But that’s a story for another time. When you’re older,” I add, not wanting to traumatize him even further by sharing my story of the hunters and other things that go bump in the night.
His biggest monster right now is his mother and her coven, and that is bad enough. He doesn’t need any more to be afraid of.
“Back to the original question: the people who live on this island enjoy helping people. They want to see you succeed just because it will make you happy.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he says, his brows furrowing in confusion.
“I thought the same thing. When I came here, I was broken, in a way. Maybe broken is a strong word for it. I felt small, like I couldn’t make a difference, like it didn’t matter what I said or did. LikeIdidn’t matter. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” he says, sullenly. “But you’re not like that anymore.”
“Sometimes I am,” I admit. “But I’ve also had five years to let my friends—my family—help me. I’ve leaned on them even when it was hard for me to do. I’ve confided in them. And you know what?”
“What?”
“They’ve never asked me for anything in return.”
“Never?” he asks, his eyes peeking up from his lap.
“Never.” I shake my head. “I’ve helped them, but only ever because I wanted to.”
“So, we’re really safe here?” he asks, tears floating in his eyes.
“Yes. I can’t promise that you’ll never be in danger again because let’s face it, the world is a dangerous place. But what I can promise is that no matter what happens, your dad and I will always do our best to keep you safe.”
Zach flies off the bed and throws his arms around my neck, surprising me. “Thank you.”
I rub his back, and he sinks into the hug, seeming more like a small child than the ten-year-old he actually is. “I will never expect you to thank me for keeping you safe. I may not be your…” I pause on the word, not wanting to bring her up.
“No, you're not, you’re so much better,” he whispers, squeezing me tighter.
“Amelia’s asking for you,” Loukas says from the doorway. Zach extracts himself from me, gets up, and walks to the door. Loukas places his hand on Zach’s shoulder halting him. “She’s asking for Pearl.”
My eyes go wide, and I stand up.
“Me?” Loukas nods and places a soft kiss on the side of my head as I pass by. Butterflies dance in my stomach, nervousness overtaking my body as I walk into the room.
“Amelia?” I call out, walking close to the bed.
“Will you sing to me?” she asks politely, and my eyes go wide. “In all my story books, the mermaids had the most beautiful voices.” Somehow even though she called me a mermaid, it doesn’t bother me.
